Blog

Creating a Culture of Innovation, Starting with Your School Board

By Dustin McKissen, October 14, 2016

Innovation is important to businesses, who won’t
remain competitive unless they evolve, adapt, and consistently work on creating
new and better products and services. Innovation is also important for
communities, who have to develop new and different ways to face the challenges
in front of them.

And innovation is especially important in your
school district.

The world your students are inheriting and the
work required of school systems to help prepare students for that world is very
different than it was 20—or even 10—years ago.

For example, is STEM education a focus in your
district? Do your students have opportunities to learn how to code? How is your
district preparing students to work in an economy where more and more jobs will
require some knowledge of artificial intelligence? Are your students prepared
to work with colleagues who live halfway across the world, and whom they may
never physically interact with?

The future is bright, but in order to prepare
your students for a rapidly changing world your district needs to develop a
culture of innovation.

And where does a culture of innovation start?

At the top.

Your district’s board needs to value innovation,
and set an example for the rest of your learning community.

Your district can adopt technology that allows
board members to review key documents between meetings, so actual meetings are used to tackle the
challenges that stand in the way of creating a culture of innovation.

And your district can do all of that by using
BoardPaq, the board portal of choice for a growing number of school districts
across the country. With BoardPaq you can conduct paperless meetings,
facilitate collaborative SWOT analyses, and keep your board members engaged,
all at a low-cost.

If you want an innovative
school district, you need to begin with having an innovative board.

Dustin McKissen is the founder of McKissen + Company, an association management and marketing firm. He is a Certified Association Executive and has served as an executive or consultant to a wide variety trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofits.